Various abrasive parts for use in cleaning have been developed incorporating a scrubbing surface within a polyurethane or other polymeric sponge. U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,928 describes a sponge containing plastic or wire wool embedded into the surface of a polyurethane or polyacetate sponge. U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,036 describes a multiple layer polyurethane sponge, wherein the surface layers containing alternating polyurethane laminar strips of differing textures. U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,841 describes that abrasives as well as other additives, such as soaps and detergents, may be incorporated integrally into a polyurethane sponge having at least one reticulated layer for egress of additives.
In clean rooms where semiconductors, magnetic storage media, or thin film circuits or semiconductors are produced, cleaning problems are often encountered. Frequently, it is necessary to clean a metal, glass, or plastic surface so as to remove metal and other particulates, and so as to remove organic and other residues. For example, after a metal pipe has been installed in a clean room, it is necessary to clean the interior surface of the metal pipe so as to remove metal particles resulting from prior manufacturing, cutting, or facing operations.
Ideally, articles for cleaning metal, glass, or plastic surfaces in clean rooms should satisfy certain criteria. Such articles should be hydrophilic and static-dissipative. Particularly but not exclusively if used in clean rooms where semiconductors, magnetic storage media, or thin film circuits are produced, such articles should have very low counts of potentially destructive particles when released in deionized water, particularly particles of a size greater than about 0.5 .mu.m, and very low counts of potentially deleterious ions when released in deionized water, particularly chloride, fluoride, sodium, sulfate, sulfite or silicon ions. Heretofore, none of the cleaning pads available for cleaning metal, glass, or plastic surfaces in clean rooms have satisfied all of these criteria.